Mr. Blasberg's Best-Dressed List: Miami Art Basel Edition

Mr. Blasberg chooses the top 10 chicest looks from the week.

Daphne Guinness at the Nowness Premiere of Marina Ambrovic "The Artist is Present"

It’s a look that only Daphne Guinness could pull off: sparkled gown, bits of tulle, a crocodile handbag, and an oversize top hat. And it’s a look that you want to see only Daphne Guinness attempt. What I admire about Daphne is the ease with which she gets dressed — and I’ve been with her when she puts these looks together, and there is no effort or pretense. And what a swell creature to have around Art Basel. After all, Daphne getting ready is a performance-art piece all its own.

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Naomi Campbell in Alaïa

While I am of the mind that an Alaïa dress is perfect for any occasion, the master’s designs are pretty good for Miami in particular. Body hugging, figure flattering and just the right amount of sexy — it’s how I wish more girls in this town would dress for the clubs, as opposed to the spandex tube dresses I’ve seen too much of. Naomi Campbell, a close friend of Alaia’s, has been seen all over the Art Basel festivities looking drop-dead gorgeous in his designs. And the flirty black and white long-sleeve minidress she wore to the Art.sy party was one of my favorites.

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Wendi Murdoch in Louis Vuitton

It’s a typical urge: Come to Miami, and break out whatever is sparkly. But in the case of Wendi Murdoch, one of the founding partners of the Art.sy Web site, which was feted with an opening on the beach at the Soho Beach House, a little bit of sequins never looked so sophisticated. Her Louis Vuitton dress was just the right amount of Manhattan elegance and Miami fabulous.

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Janelle Monae at the Ferrari Celebrates Art Basel Party

Don’t get me wrong, I love it when a girl comes to Miami and revs up a beach look. But I have just as much respect for the sort of woman who comes down to a humidity-drenched beach town and doesn’t compromise her Northerner style at all. Such was the case with Janelle Monáe, the pint-sized-but-powerful songstress who showed up at a Ferrari party in Miami wearing her trademark menswear-inspired suiting.

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Harley-Viera Newton in Christian Dior

Under normal circumstances, I can’t say that I would advise a young woman to mix a bare midriff and purple lace cutouts. But, hey, it’s Miami, so all bets are off. I thought Harley Viera-Newton’s Dior dress hit the nail on the head when it came to a sexy, flirty dress — even if I’m not sure she should work the same look when she gets back to New York. For one thing, she’d catch her death of cold.

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Dasha Zhukova in Nina Ricci

Dasha Zhukova, the Moscow-born art-world superstar, tapped into a very specific look while she was in Miami: fabulous flirty Nina Ricci cocktail dress mixed with killer black heels and a distressed Rodarte cardigan. She chose the silhouette for a party at Naomi Campbell’s new house on Star Island on Thursday night, and she wore a different version to a Dior party a few nights before. It was hard to pick a favorite, as is often the case when looking at pictures of the gorgeous Dasha, but I went with the one with a belt just because I’m a sucker for a good accessory.

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Samantha Boardman in Sophie Theallet

Readers of the October issue will know that I’ve been a longtime fan of the sartorial choices of New York’s Samantha Boardman. (She is one of the Very Classy–est women I know. Watch the video here.) And while I love the classic Americana she works back home in Manhattan, a true style icon like her knows how to adjust to her environment. She might not work a pleated sundress in December back home, but she broke out the ruffles and the print for a fun night in Miami.

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Olympia Scarry in Christian Dior

When I first met the artist Olympia Scarry, we were both younger and a little more — how can I put this? — delicate. Isn’t youth grand? In recent years, particularly since she became such good friends with Riccardo Tisci and a fan of his Givenchy designs, her style has become a little darker and edgier. (I saw that on Thursday night, when she wore an embellished black Oxford shirt with a black leather pencil skirt, both by Givenchy, to the Wall.) But earlier in the week, when she showed up at a Dior party in a sweet sundress with her hair pulled back in braids, it made me nostalgic. She looked angelic and divine.

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Coco Brandolini in Bottega Veneta

I didn’t expect to see Coco Brandolini in Miami. The Milan-based fashion consultant is, to me, one of the most chic Europeans I’ve ever met. That’s probably why I was a little embarrassed when I ran into her at a club surrounded by women in teeny tiny bandage dresses and more makeup than you see at a drag show. She was entertained by it all and looking just as elegant and nonchalant as possible. It just seems so easy how she had thrown on a Bottega Veneta dress with a some strappy sandals and, perhaps because she was chilly, a denim jacket.

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Stephanie Seymour in Alaïa

Naomi Campbell isn’t the only legendary supermodel who’s close friends with Azzedine Alaïa. Stephanie Seymour, whose husband is art-world legend Peter Brant, is a longtime confidant of the Paris-based fashion designer too — and she has the dresses to prove it! But while I wasn’t surprised to see Stephanie working a form-flattering dress by him at a party at the W Hotel, I will say that every time I see her, I’m consistently surprised by how flawless she continues to look.

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